I was faced with a similar conflict last year and will relate my own experience. I choose to take the money and it was a big mistake. Now, some of that may have to do with my feelings about my current (soon to be past) school. But the bottom line is that accepting a discount is a mistake if the school isn't the right fit. It won't be worth it if you are unhappy with your choice. I'm giving up a lot of money, but I am transferring from a T4 to a T25 this year because for me, no matter how much money my current school gave me, I would not stay. There won't be much difference between a T3 and T4 school, so my personal opinion is to go where you think you want to be in terms of location (FL vs. NY is a big differnce).

Also, I would highly advise against going to law school with the intent of transferring. A lot of my friends did this without realize one thing...law school is difficult. Everybody works hard and it is not easy to finish at the top of your class regardless of where you go to school. I decided after my first semester that i was going to try and transfer and basically gave up anything resembling a social life during the spring semester.

"Though how in hell one passes judgment on a man without considering the content of his brain is more than Iíll ever understand"

I have visible tattoos on my forarms, nothing big or offensive, but i made the choice to get them, and i will make the choice to wear long sleeve shirts every day of my professional career. Does it suck that i will be judge based on tattoos? Of course it does. But nobody should fool themselves into thinking it is going to change anytime soon. Evertime i walk into a professors office and shake a hand, their eyes are immediately drawn to my tattoos. And not just professors, everyone is instantly drawn to the sight of a tattoo. I'm comfortable with the fact that I have them, and don't care if they judge me based on that. However, I realize that these people are not the ones giving me a job and that hiring managers will judge me based on the fact. Why? Because they realize that most clients will judge you based on the appearance of tattoos. I don't care if your tattoo is a really pretty vine around your wrist, people do and will continue to judge. I'm not sticking up for either side in this argument, and if you want to judge me based on my tattoos then you are somebody i would not associate with anyways. Even though society is becoming more accepting of tattoos does not mean the professional world will follow suit. This is especially true of the legal profession because of the continious contact with clients, judges, and other lawyers. Its not like we stand on wall street and trade all day. Every day we deal with people who will judge you based on many factors, appearance included. Am I perpetuating the wrong attitude with this opinion? Maybe. If it were up to me would I hire someone with visible tattoos? Depends. Getting tattoos is a personal choice and if you are willing to have visible tattoos, you had better be comfortable people judging you because it will happen. Its a choice...its like people who choose to go to law school, but continously beotch about it. Now those people I can't stand.

I'm currently at WM and trying to transfer out of here. I think if you want a job in the twin cities, then WM is probably a better choice. However, many people are starting to get a little nervous about WM's long term potential to stay competitive. I personally have issues with the school, but again, if what you are looking for is a job in the TC, then WM will be able to get you that.